22 October 2002
editorial
Nairobi — A few weeks ago, the Nation Media Group and the Kenya Wildlife Service launched an initiative to save the Aberdare Forest from destruction by starting a fund to erect an electric fence around it.
This noble initiative was the result of the realisation that the source of the country's main rivers, was vital for the livelihood of millions now and in the future.
The idea was to discourage human encroachment into the forest in the form cultivation, illegal logging, and the destruction of the natural habitats of wild animals.
It is not yet clear how much impact the campaign has had, but for the malign characters who would destroy the Aberdare ecosystem for private gain, it is as though no warning had been sounded.
Yesterday, it was learnt that hundreds of acres of forest on the Aberdare ranges have been clear-felled by sawmillers. Obviously, this activity has been going on for some time, and it is not until officials of the Forest Inspection Protection Unit visited the area that the enormity of the destruction was revealed.
The head of the unit put his finger on the culprits: The provincial administration in collaboration with forest officers. Only in Kenya are the officials supposed to protect the natural environment, are the same people most responsible for its destruction.
This sort of lawlessness is perpetrated by people to whom the pursuit of quick riches is the end-all of their existence.
In the meantime, when trees are mowed down and rivers dry up, the same people who will have bought power with their ill-gotten gains will stand on platforms to laud the virtues of conservation.
Is there no way of getting rid of such filth before it is too late?
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